Bell Pepper Recipes

Our family brunch this weekend was delightful but that doesn't mean it took us hours to prepare it. I had ready-made blueberry blossoms (individual free-form fruit pies) that I had stored in the freezer, so my only additions were a quiche and quinoa stuffed bell peppers on a bed of roasted bell pepper coulis.

I especially loved preparing the quinoa dish. It was colorful, flavorful and nutritious. I cooked the quinoa slightly longer till it became slightly clumpy, so when I seasoned it with a basil vinaigrette, sun-dried tomatoes and blue goat cheese, the quinoa mixture was easy to fill into the bell pepper "cups". The bell pepper sauce added brightness, thanks to the addition of tomato paste and freshly squeezed lemon juice, and contrasted really well with the sharpness and pungency of the cheese.

This is the type of light meal I love for lunch. It's satisfying, filled with vegetables and it's a one-dish meal, which means less cleanup! The tart is flavored with red and yellow bell peppers combined with ricotta and Parmesan cheeses, onions, tomato paste, chili flakes and fresh oregano. To complete the dish, I topped the savory tart with mixed greens and flavorful dressing.

We just purchased the tickets for our next trip to Paris. My best friend Alexia is getting married and I wouldn't miss it for the world. For this reason, my husband Lulu and I have committed ourselves to looking good and being healthy for the occasion. I've controlled the portion size of our meals and we work out as often as we possibly can. This morning, Lulu woke up early to play football with friends and while he was busy during his game, I whipped up a light meal for him.

I tossed hakka noodles (vegetarian wheat noodles made without eggs) with mock ground meat, julienned carrots, bell peppers and yellow onions. I served them at room temperature in lettuce cups and added sweet potato shoestrings as a crunchy garnish. Whenever I make a dish, I try to balance the textures and colors, which I find key to the success of any meal. The sweet potato shoestrings, in particular, are extremely versatile and can be used as the crunchy element in many savory dishes. They didn't quite make my first cookbook, Haute Potato, but I still highly recommend trying them. You'll end up eating them by the handful!

As I mentioned last week, I will be posting a vegetarian dish on "Meatless Mondays" and a scrumptious dessert for the weekend. I figure one will cancel out the other. Last weekend I shared a Meyer lemon mousse in wonton cups, and this week, well you'll just have to come back on Friday and see!

Our entire family has been following the elections very closely. Knowing that Ohio is a key state in the home stretch, I did some research and found out that tomato juice was its official beverage. It's not warm enough to make tomato juice, so I made a warm tomato soup, using the very last batch of tomatoes in our garden.

I blended the ripe tomatoes with roasted red bell pepper, fried yellow onions, garlic, cumin, clove, fresh basil and crème fraîche. The result was very soothing and, to my surprise, the soup turned out very sweet and not acidic at all.

Since we arrived in Paris, my husband Lulu and I have taken the opportunity to have romantic getaways in Europe and leave baby Aria with my parents. My parents are thrilled to get to have time alone with their granddaughter, and thankfully, so is Aria. As the crazy mom that I am, I've left a long list of instructions for my mom to ensure the happy well-being of my baby girl, and that includes what she eats. Ever since Aria started eating solid food, I've managed to feed her only homemade baby food. I use the term baby food loosely, since I only feed Aria food that I would also eat.

I've taught Maman one of Aria's favorite soups: roasted bell pepper soup. It's a healthy blend of lentils, brown rice and roasted bell peppers. When Lulu and I came home, there was still some soup left, so we all ate it as a first course. I garnished it with sweet basil and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. It's fantastic!